Blue Jackets: Torres' year of torment

Blue Jackets winger Raffi Torres and his bride, Gianna, were headed home from an island paradise just five days into a two-week vacation last summer.

Sandy beaches and Caribbean breezes beckoned, but the pain in his right knee had Torres sequestered in a room at a St. Lucia resort. Seven months after surgery and two months before training camp, he was concerned.

"I was just lying in bed all day. I couldn't move," he said. "I remember getting on the plane to come home and the knee just seizing up on me."

The honeymoon was over almost before it had begun.

Blue Jackets winger Raffi Torres and his bride, Gianna, were headed home from an island paradise just five days into a two-week vacation last summer.

Sandy beaches and Caribbean breezes beckoned, but the pain in his right knee had Torres sequestered in a room at a St. Lucia resort. Seven months after surgery and two months before training camp, he was concerned.

"I was just lying in bed all day. I couldn't move," he said. "I remember getting on the plane to come home and the knee just seizing up on me."

Torres enters his second season as a Blue Jacket with two healthy knees and a prosperous personal life.

His strong finish last season helped the Jackets reach the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time. The months preceding it, however, were among his most challenging.

Fans recognize the physical toll a long-term injury takes on an athlete. What they don't see is the psychological torment it can wreak. Torres found himself second-guessing his fortitude and building walls to keep out loved ones.

"I was depressed because of the pain," Torres said. "I was in a bad mood all the time. It sometimes took me an hour to get going in the morning. There were times, before I got a second opinion, when I began to doubt I was strong enough to push through the pain."

Torres suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing for the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 13, 2007. The Jackets acquired him the following summer, and coaches and management cautioned him to be realistic about his rehabilitation.

"A significant, season-ending injury takes 12 months before the player stops thinking about it," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "There is all kinds of hesitation and worry."

Torres, the son of a 61-year-old general contractor who works despite a bad knee and diabetes, thought that timetable did not apply to him.

He reported to camp and almost immediately suffered a shoulder injury during a preseason fight, delaying his regular-season debut until Nov. 1. It became clear that Torres lacked the power that makes him one of the league's more unpredictable players and dangerous hitters.

Former Blue Jackets center Michael Peca, who has experience recovering from long-term injury, said his teammate could barely run or perform certain exercises. Torres relied heavily on painkillers, but they only masked the problem.

His return lasted a month before he sought a second opinion and had arthroscopic surgery in Minnesota.

"It took them too long to realize he wasn't going to be 100 percent without more surgery," Peca said. "I'm a big believer that the player knows his body better than anyone."

Torres said he took his frustrations home to Gianna.

"Our relationship went south there for a while because I was always in a bad mood," Torres said. "She knew when she had to stay away from me and when she could be around me. It wasn't just with her, it was with everybody. I was not a good guy to be around for seven or eight months.

"My wife deserved better. She put up with a lot. I don't want to go into details, but let's just say there were a lot of slammed doors and words exchanged. I just wasn't myself."

Life improved after the second surgery. Torres began to trust the knee, and his timing returned. He scored nine goals in the final 18 regular-season games.

He is looking forward to a new season and a new arrival. Gianna is six months pregnant with the couple's first child, and Torres eagerly awaits fatherhood.

"It's great to be starting a new chapter in our lives together," he said.

Torres, an unrestricted free agent at season's end, worked out all summer and has embraced Hitchcock's request to add more structure to his defensive game.

Getting out of bed in the morning has never been easier.

"The whole thing made me appreciate how much I love the game," he said. "Now, nothing is holding me back."

treed@dispatch.com

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